Mia Troy-Vowell has taken her love of dogs to a whole other level, starting Oh My Dog, an doggie day care, retail and obedience school in South Burlington. / RYAN MERCER, Free Press

Written by

Katy Petiford, Free Press Correspondent

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Mia Troy-Vowell’s business card has the title DEO, Doggie Executive Office.

Troy-Vowell is the owner of Oh my DOG, a new dog services business located in South Burlington. Even though she has 14 rescued dogs at home, Troy-Vowell doesn’t get tired of working with the animals at her job.

“We want to be one of the top day care and boarding facilities in Burlington,” Troy-Vowell said.

The business also boards 110 dogs from All Breed Rescue that are available for adoption. These dogs were rescued from high kill shelters in the South and brought to Vermont to find their forever home.

All Breed Rescue has saved around 4,000 dogs since 1996, according to Troy-Vowell, who is a board member for the company.

There is an adoption fee of $465 for each dog rescued. A senior dog can be brought home for $325. The adoption fee covers transportation and a “pull-fee” that is charged by the shelters down south.

Transportation from South Carolina to Vermont costs between $100 and $150. The pull fee, which includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations and a South Carolina health certificate, costs $75 to $150.

Although the goal is for each dog to be adopted, it’s still sad to see some leave, Troy-Vowell said.

“It’s bittersweet when we see them go to their forever home,” she said. “But for me, that’s the reason I do it.”

However, dogs haven’t always been her career.

Troy-Vowell graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in marketing. She worked in the action sports industry for 10 years.

When Troy-Vowell was let go, she seized the opportunity to start her own business.

“I wanted to take my future into my own hands,” Troy-Vowell said.

She wanted to find an industry that would support her family and thrive during the current economic crisis.

Using data from the American Pet Products Association (APPA), Troy-Vowell found that the pet industry has been growing since 2007. She decided to open her own business offering services to the dogs and their owners in the greater Burlington area.

“We’re very fortunate to live in a place where people treat their dogs like family,” Troy-Vowell said.

She started the business with her husband, Whitney Troy-Vowell.

“My husband and I took that leap together,” she said. “It’s exhausting but thank God we have each other.”

While Troy-Vowell has been focusing on the marketing aspect of the business, Whitney has spent the majority of his time at the South Burlington location. He does everything from scooping poop to over seeing the 11 part-time employees to painting.

“My husband does on-site operations,” she said. “We both shoulder separate parts of the responsibilities.”

Even though they are working on different parts of the business, the couple helps support each other during times of stress. Troy-Vowell believes that the difficulty of starting a new business is worth it, as long as they have each other.

“Whit and I are ‘all or nothing’ kind of people,” she said. “Everything we have done in life has been about taking a leap of faith. We are risk takers.”